How Well Do Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt & Benny Safdie Know Each Other?

That's why Benny Safdie is a very singular, rare pair. Sorry, I'm so sorry to interrupt your waxing poet. That's it, you got it. Got it. Keep going. Ready. Who is most likely to want to go watch a UFC match? I did say Benny. I said myself. I said all of us. Well, it depends who's fighting, you know. I can't speak to the fight until they get at me. But whoever's the underdog is usually who I go for, even though I might like the other guy. What was Emily's character's name in The Devil Wears Prada? Oh. Do you want the full name? It's true. Is it? Yeah. She was very much based on me, worryingly. Yes. Not really. She was called Emily when I auditioned, I will just say. It's a shame she's making a movie that no one cares about. Exactly. No one's going to see that movie. How many wrestling championships has Dwayne won? Christ. Oh, my God. I don't know. I'm taking a guess. Oh, wow. You just cheated. I did cheat, of course I did. Oh, God, I've really undersold you, Toots. I'm sorry. Yeah. I don't even know if this is it. I was going to say like six, but I said 17. Wow. 17. I think it's 17 total. Wow. But, by the way, let's be clear. I became champion because I was picked to become champion, okay? Does everybody be clear? We're in a real boxing gym right now. What's one note that Benny likes to give on set? Oh, that's good. Ooh. Yeah. I was going to do that, but. Well, I said it's more of a mantra. Amusing. Amazing. You do say amazing a lot. It's true. Amazing. So, Benny gave me a note that changed my life as an actor. And it was the scene at the beginning where Mark loses his first fight. And after his loss, he had a hard time reconciling with that in that moment. And Benny came to me and he said, in this moment, act like no one is relying on you. And for me, there's so many layers to that. Because I feel like he also spoke to just this infrastructure that's been ever present in my life. It's just a human being. And an actor. And a father. So very much as a man. And as a man. That idea of the invitation to let go and be vulnerable and not have to hold on to anything. And that's right. Like no one's relying on you. And then that was it. It was beautiful. Oh. I'm going to be real about this. Yeah, I'm going to be real. Yeah. Just making sure it's the right one. Yeah. That's right. I got the same. We were all emotional. And in that moment, it was a very visceral validation that we made something that was pretty impactful. Especially to that audience who is so ceremonial with the films that come in from all around the world. And the directors who deliver them. And so for us, we went into that moment in Venice really unattached to an outcome or anybody's response. But hoping they'd like it. Oh, God. Really hoping. I wasn't that unattached. Well, it's interesting because it's like you make it for yourself. But we did make it for people to see it and connect to it. And the fact that they connected on that level. And it was weird because you think like, what's it like when people are clapping for that long? Yeah. And the way that I was like, I really realized it was like you're having these like five second micro conversations with everybody that you make eye contact with. You look at them and then they look at you and you have this moment of like, yes. And then you get that from them and it's like, this is, it was a wild experience. You don't expect it. But when somebody says like, that was nice, you know, it does feel good. It's a relief. Yeah. So that's why we're all pretty emotional. And plus, also, that was the first time that we all saw the film with Mark Kerr. We sat next to each other. Mark's a big guy and I feel him shaking throughout. And especially at the end where a lot goes down in that final 15 minutes of The Smashing Machine. And he was really shaking. And I look over and I see Benny holding Mark's hand through the whole thing. We just held his hand. We held it through the rest of the movie. Grip tight. You could feel people recognizing themselves in the brutal path he had to peace. They recognized him. And I think it was clear that was going to be the new imprint of his life. And I think that must have felt so peaceful. I think I said to him, I said, now everybody's going to know your name. It was really special in that way. What was the most difficult scene to film? We might all have different answers, though. Should I turn mine first? Sure. We're waiting for old Slowpoke over here. Bathroom scene. Bathroom scene, yeah. Yeah, the final huge argument end scene. Yeah. We all got together in a room and I was like, alright. I know that there's been times in our own respective relationships where we've probably said things that we feel bad about. And you really look back and say, I shouldn't have said that. And we were all open with each other. And my feeling was, hopefully when we get to the moments where that's going to be in the movie, we would feel comfortable with one another to allow ourselves to show that. And also that's sort of just the pattern in which arguments break out. And such an emotional tightrope between them. And at what point the doors blow off. And at what point do they pull back and try to rein it in. It was just that awful push-pull of a massive argument brewing. And you don't know when you're in the middle of it or at the end of it. You have no idea where it began. That's right. It goes on this journey where it's completely separate from where it started. I know what that feels like to hold on to somebody for their dear life. And you're trying to protect them from themselves. And then to watch them do it with such realness. I was like, that's it. We did that. You guys don't need to do that again. I certainly don't need to watch that again. You could see on your face how hard it is to do something that you didn't want to have happen. The whole thing is really complicated there. Unlike Benny, I've never experienced that where you're holding on to someone with all of your strength and all of your might. And the last place that person wants to be is in your arms. I felt Emily's force as an actor because I'm holding on to her on the floor with all I got. And I'm a decently strong human being sometimes. But in that moment, I will never forget that sensory feeling and the things that she was screaming and the energy that she was putting out. And that's the thing. You are holding on to her with all of your might. But you also don't want to hurt her. That's the balance that you see. And you're very careful about where you placed your hands. There's a lot. I think the thing that really served us was seven years of friendship between those movies. We really know each other. We trust each other. We respect each other. I think we had a kind of secret language. And we were very excited to do something like this together. But it is the great unknown. To put your feet to the fire on a project that will really tighten the screws on you is intimidating and thrilling simultaneously. But I felt very safe with DJ, very safe with Benny. And I knew it would be immersive. And I was so excited to see him do this disappearing act. And excited to see him leap into kind of unknown waters. And it was honestly one of the more moving experiences to get to do this with my friend. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm not sure between the two of you. I would imagine. I said Benny. I said me and DJ. I said you and DJ. But I thought. But maybe. But I think Benny. I spoke to him a lot. I think because you spoke to him so much when you were writing it. So I would say. You know what, DJ? No, right. Well, what I was going to say was. You're gone. Back in 2019 is when he and I had our first conversation. And I was letting him know then. Hey, I think, you know, this is going to move forward. We're going to tell this story about your life. And at that time, I just met with Benny. I watched Uncut Gems. We hit it off. We love this idea. COVID happened. Three months later. And then everything kind of just went away. The first thing I said to him was. Like, hi, my name is Benny Sapp. You know, I'm going to make this movie. And then I just kind of said, you know what? I'm going to tell you everything about me. And my life. And everything I've been through. Good, bad, horrible. And I'm going to trust you with that. Because I hope you'll trust me. With your story. And we would just have conversations about life. And how he dealt with things. And what it was like to be in recovery. And that's where I got this kind of beautiful feeling of him. Looking back on his life. And speaking so openly about the things he regretted. And I thought, wow, this is really. It's really beautiful, his new point of view on life. And it informed, you know, how I wanted people to feel at the end of the movie. You know, that despite everything that happens, you know. Things could be okay, you know. This is why he's, speak about him as if he's not sitting next to us. Why Benny Safdie is a very singular, rare. Sorry, there's a fly that is. I'm so sorry to interrupt your waxing poet. That's it, you got it. Got it. Keep going. He is rarefied air kind of director. He is. Yes. Thank you guys. How long did Dwayne have to sit in the makeup chair each day? Sorry. Here comes a joke now. No, it's not. No? Don't worry, I'm not. Oh, that's true. Actually, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Well, when he, after he'd had a fight, he would have to have bruising, swelling. So then it would stretch to like five hours. There was a day, because we had different prosthetics for different moments. Right, over 22 prosthetics. So there was the normal resting kind of face. And then after a fight, there would be bruising. And other things to add swelling, yeah. Scars. So there was one day, I remember this, where based on how you shoot, things are out of order. We had to shoot the fight, because we shot the fight earlier. So we were doing the before fight, and then after the fight. So then he did the three and a half hours. He went away, and we started shooting other stuff. And he had another three and a half hours that day to get different prosthetics on. Do you know that Glenn said he's the most patient actor he's worked with ever? That was seven hours that day. That was ludicrous. That was insane. That was a lot. And there was also the real injuries. When, for example, I got kicked, and my elbow got really fucked up. And it's just all black and blue here. We had to cover that up. That scene's in the movie, by the way. It is. In the very beginning. Was it from the door or from the fight? Someone kicked you. From the fight. I got kicked down in Brazil. He blocks the kick with his elbow, which is what you would do. It was a real kick. It was like, clack. And then I was like, oh, there it was.